Star Wars Celebration, Trailer Appreciation

In honor of the new Star Wars: Battlefront II trailer just released as part of Star Wars Celebration, I thought I would go down and list out my personal favorite game trailers of all time. This isn’t a “Best Of” list, and this doesn’t include in-game cinematic story beats. You can see the Battlefront II trailer below before we begin our journey.

LEFT 4 DEAD

Way back when in the distant past when Valve still made games instead of just boatloads of money, they released Left4Dead on November 17th and helped kick off the zombie craze that would eventually seep into everything we know and love. Thankfully, Left4Dead and it’s sequel are both incredible games and this trailer, which also served as the intro, let you know everything you needed to know about the game ahead.

PORTAL 2

Sticking with Valve published games, Portal 2 took the concept of Portal 1 and turned the dial up to 11 in every aspect of the game; and, While the single player campaign was hilariously written and acted, it was the co-op gameplay that will stick with me forever. This co-op trailer set the tone for the dozens of hours my cousin and I spent tormenting each other as we struggled to complete each puzzle without accidentally “killing” one another in hilarious, unintended manners.

METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN

More music video than game trailer, this incredibly well put together tone piece set the groundwork for what would end up being one of the best games in a long series of amazing games. Even if you have a hard time following the plot line of the Metal Gear series (and who doesn’t), the Nuclear trailer lets you know exactly the scope and impact that this game is going to have. If you can watch this trailer and not get goose bumps then you might be a machine.

STAR WARS: THE OLD REPUBLIC

While the game itself didn’t deliver on all its promises, the reveal trailer for Star Wars: The Old Republic is one of the best Star Wars trailers I’ve ever, game or otherwise.

WORLD OF WARCRAFT: CATACLYSM

World of Warcraft is my all-time favorite game, ever. Period. Wrath of the Lich King marked a high point for end-game raiding, but Cataclysm brought my favorite Warcraft villain to the forefront of the story and brought with it one of the best trailers the series has seen it its decade long run.

MASS EFFECT 2

With VO from none other than the great Martin Sheen, the Mass Effect 2 launch trailer provided all the hype needed to build all the anticipation I could handle at release. Mass Effect 1 is still my favorite game in the trilogy despite popular opinion saying otherwise, but this trailer outshines all other trailers in the series.

GEARS OF WAR

Come on, was there even a chance this wasn’t going to show up on this list? The Gears of War “Mad World” trailer is still regarded as one of the best game trailers to ever be released, and it’s not hard to see why. The song perfectly encapsulates the gravity of the situation in which the planet of Sera finds itself; and while Gears of War epitomizes the “dude-bro” shooter genre, the series is as equally known for its touching story moments as it is for its over-the-top set pieces.

As a bonus treat, I’ve included The Last Jedi trailer here to cap off this trailer appreciation post with the trailer that kicked off this entire Star Wars Celebration weekend. Let us know what your favorite game trailers are in the comments below!